QUESTION # 1 ( ONE PARAGRAPH REQUIRED) Explain psychological autopsy. How is it important in a criminal investigation? What are some of the relevant factors for performing a psychological autopsy?...

Written Assignment        4
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Table of Contents
Answer #1    3
Answer #2    5
Answer #3    10
Answer #4    12
Answer #5    15
Answer #6    16
References    18
Answer #1
One of the most useful techniques in the study of completed suicide is psychological autopsy. The approach entails conducting organized interviews with family members, relatives, or acquaintances, as well as accompanying medical staff, to gather all available information on the dead. In addition, data is gathered from medical and psychiatric records, as well as other papers and forensic examinations. As a result, a psychological autopsy combines information from many sources and records. More than 90% of completed suicides had co-mo
id mental illnesses, the majority of which were mood disorders and/or drug use disorders, according to the first generation of psychological autopsies (Hesse, Thylstrup, Seid, & Skogen, 2020). Furthermore, despite interaction with psychiatric or other healthcare facilities, they indicated significant undertreatment of various mental illnesses. Recent psychological autopsy studies have mostly utilized case-control designs, allowing researchers to better evaluate the relevance of numerous suicide risk factors. Future psychological autopsy research might focus on interactions between risk factors or risk factor domains, or integrate psychological autopsy methods with biological measures, or focus on certain specific suicide populations of great interest for suicide prevention. Physical evidence and evidence discovered during an autopsy may not always disclose the reason and method of death. This is refe
ed to as "equivocal death." The psychological autopsy is a reconstruction of a decedent's life conducted retrospectively to have a better understanding of his death (Vasudevan & Hanumantha, 2020). It is used to figure out what the victim was thinking before he died, utilizing interviews and document inspection to piece together the victim's behavior, personality, lifestyle, habits, and background. Psychological autopsy helps to analyze the conduct, thoughts, feelings, and relations of an individual who has died, as it is an ultimate instrument of professional knowledge and practice in which it involves the application of skills, experience, and training (Kim, Beckson, Jones & Berman, 2017). The dead or his family may not want facts that require special treatment to be disclosed. There are several problems. Therefore, interviews may be adequate with family, friends, and relatives. As a result, the interviewer must be adaptable. Before the interview, the interviewer should develop mutual respect and confidence with the informant, maintain secrecy and anonymity, and get informed permission. As a result, the interviewer must be qualified and skilled. False information can either be supplied intentionally or as a result of a lack of recall. Personal documents, medical records, school records, military records, and employment records should all be examined thoroughly. A psychological autopsy report is created using the aforementioned information, and the conclusion is based on the accuracy of the data obtained from the interviews, as well as the study of pertinent papers and other materials (Joiner Jr, Buchman‐Schmitt & Chu, 2017). These are
oad principles that should or could be beneficial in producing a psychiatric autopsy report and should only be utilized when an absolute indication exists. The following are some of the important elements to consider while doing a psychological autopsy: 1) Identifying victim information 2) Information on the death 3) Evidence from the crime site 4) Medical autopsy report 5) Background information/history of the victim 6) The victim's family's death history 7) Characteristics of the victim's personality and way of life 8) Account of the victim's final days 9) Determination of intent 10) Reaction of the informants to the victim's death 11) Assessment of suicide intent's lethality.
Answer #2
    In the given scenario, I am a police psychologist. We have received a call about the mayor and his family being kidnapped. It is important to understand that this is a hostage scenario. The only cu
ent knowledge about the kidnapper was that he was a former town employee who had been kidnapped by stealing money from the city 6 months earlier.
A police psychologist can play a variety of roles in crisis negotiation, including a hostage negotiator (Gru
, Brown, Hall & Bowen, 2021). The police psychologist is most valuable as a member of the negotiating team's consultant. The most essential function a police psychologist plays as a member of the negotiating team is to observe and analyze the conduct of other team members, notably the lead negotiator, in a stressful scenario. Other responsibilities include participant-observer in giving feedback on procedures and team member appropriateness, interviewer of family, friends, and acquaintances of both the hostage-taker and the hostages; and participant-observer in providing input on processes and team member suitability. Selectors, trainers, and hostage negotiators, as well as academics, develop choice aids to help police choose methods.
To acquire the highest certification and training to participate in negotiations, a police psychologist should attend a basic negotiator as well as continuous training and advanced negotiation (Sharpe, 2020). In the hostage-crisis negotiations, critical incidents, SWAT operations, and high-risk operations you should also familiarize yourself with the literature. To address the actor's immediate crisis, these psychologists and negotiators depend on five principles: empathy, active listening skills, setting conduct limits, reframing the issue into comprehensible terms and achievable actions, and problem resolution. All of these are fundamental understandings that a police psychologist must ca
y out in a crisis/situation of the hostage.
It is critical to assess the perpetrator before proceeding with the hostage negotiation. The subject appears to be under a lot of stress and resentment as a result of his termination a few months ago. He is probably reacting based on the emotions he is experiencing rather than the logic of the situation. He is most likely blaming the mayor for his severe anxiety, rage, melancholy, or poor self-esteem, as well as his dismissal from his work.
We would like to speak with those who have been close to him throughout his life. Friends, relatives, acquaintances, coworkers, and anybody else who has even a passing acquaintance with the actor should be questioned to get insight into why the subject is acting the way they are. In a negotiation, extracting information from interviewees is critical, since it is necessary to acquire such knowledge to use it strategically in the negotiation (Kesting & Nielsen, 2020). The material gathered from the interviewees will be used to organize and produce an assessment of the subject.
As a police psychologist, it is my responsibility to keep an eye on team members and negotiators. Our chief negotiator is the one on whom I should be concentrating the most. Reminding the lead negotiator that being honest about the issue is more important than manipulation, supe
acting, or being condescending. It is rather displaying concern for the individual to
ing the issue to a peaceful conclusion. Stress and anxiety are common sensations in hostage situations, and they are tense circumstances. It is critical to keep an eye on how the primary negotiator is reacting to the circumstance and to reduce stress and anxiety intake so that the negotiator reacts and moves forward as efficiently as feasible. Being a consultant is also crucial; in situations where the negotiator is unsure of how to proceed, offering counsel is a great way to keep the situation from spiraling out of control. Finally, the lead negotiator is not the only one experiencing stress or anxiety as a result of the scenario; many other team members are as well, thus monitoring their behavior is an important duty of this position.
The final step of the negotiation is to achieve behavioral change in the topic while gradually
inging the situation to terms and lowering the amount of tension and wo
y. After obtaining the individual's in-depth aims, ideas, and feelings, it is important to apply alternate solutions to have a possibility of changing the subject's original conduct. The hostage crisis required a significant amount of time and work to obtain a satisfactory result; the layout and strategy were effective, and the subject calmly released the mayor and his family after coming to his senses and opting for the alternate solution to the issue.
Since the hostage crisis is ended, there is no need to be concerned; everything went well, and no one was...